Laura Cassiday

President

Laura Cassiday has been taking clinics and competing as an Amateur in Cowboy Dressage with her palomino quarter horse mare, Peaches (Bayou A Diamond), since 2015. Laura has a PhD in biochemistry and once conducted cancer research with a Nobel laureate, but now she works from home as a science writer. Laura has taken Cowboy Dressage clinics from Eitan Beth-Halachmy, Lyn Ringrose-Moe, Garn Walker, Nonny Largent, and many others and attended Eitan’s School of Horsemanship with Peaches in Grass Valley, California. Laura has been an active volunteer with Cowboy Dressage World of Colorado since 2017, serving as Vice President from 2018-2019 and President from 2020-present. She is a sixth-generation Colorado native and lives near Hudson with her husband and daughter.

Lorae Merritt

Vice President

Lorae Merritt is married with two grown children and has lived in Colorado for over 25 years. She did 4-H with her daughter and was a horse project leader and secretary for the ADCO Horse Committee for almost 10 years. After her daughter graduated, Lorae began showing in Western Performance and Paint shows. She discovered Cowboy Dressage at the Horse Expo, and rode in her first show in May 2019. Lorae loves what the training had done for her and her horse, and she loves the people she has met. She is excited for what the next year will bring!

Kim Villamarin

Secretary

Kim Villamarin has been riding most of her life, participating in just about every discipline that is available, until she found Cowboy Dressage. Their motto, “When dressage fits your needs, but a Stetson fits your lifestyle,” appealed to her. Kim joined Cowboy Dressage of Colorado and subsequently the Board to help educate others on the principles of Cowboy Dressage and how good it is for your horse. Where else can you school a test during a show and not be looked down on? You are instead applauded for putting your horse first.

Barb Ford

Treasurer

Barb Ford is a Colorado native that’s been horsing around for the last 44+ years. While Barb has mostly done trail riding and pleasure, she has also participated in 4-H, gymkhana, and some limited showing when she was young. Barb worked for a couple of summer seasons as a wrangler guiding trail rides in the Rocky Mountain National Forest in her late teens. Barb resides just a few miles outside of Keenesburg with her husband, two horses, two dogs, and four cats. Barb has been participating in Cowboy Dressage since 2016 and loves the philosophy of soft feel and obtaining better communication and partnership with her horses. The friendly, encouraging participants of Cowboy Dressage keep her engaged and coming back.

Pam Pierce

Board Member-at-Large

Pam is originally from the Washington D.C. area but lived in Indiana, Michigan, and California, before moving to Colorado in 2000. She has always loved horses and started out at a jumping barn after she moved to Colorado. Eitan has called her a 'clinican' because she has a thirst for knowledge and a partnership with her horses that takes her to many clinics. Eventually, she discovered Natural Horsemanship, cow working, trail obstacles, and trail riding. When she met Deb, Eitan, Lyn, and Garn, at a super clinic in Colorado, Pam became smitten with Cowboy Dressage and the kindness to the horses and people that the sport makes its mission to promote. She became a Level 1 Clinician in 2018 and is currently working on her Level 2 status. Pam and her husband, Jim, host shows and clinics at Singing Dog Ranch in Wellington, CO.